Perhaps because of the noise, or perhaps because they were in the wrong, several people sneaked out of the village in the afternoon of the investigation. Unfortunately, they forgot about the professional ethics of Police Officers Zhang and Duan, and were discovered by the people stationed at the village entrance as soon as they left the village.
So the following scene appeared on the road from Dujia Village to the town: three or four people in front walked leisurely and cautiously, looking back from time to time, while one or two figures would always run quickly in the grass, behind the wall, and under the big tree not far behind them. When they were about to arrive at the town, one or two people wearing straw hats and carrying loads would turn out from other places.
Seeing the people entering the town, Officer Duan stopped hiding. He changed into plain clothes, frowned, and asked in a low voice, "Are you going to the noodle factory?"
Police Officer Zhang also looked unhappy. "Could it really be the former village chief who instigated this?"
The policeman didn't say anything about this, but he had some guesses in his mind.
The two followed a few people all the way, and when they saw them enter the family building of the noodle factory, they stood behind the wall and looked at each other in surprise.
"Are you still following?" asked Police Officer Zhang uncertainly. The target here was too obvious, and he felt like he didn't know how to advance or retreat.
Just as Officer Duan was hesitating whether to follow, the people who had gone in were pushed out by a middle-aged woman, who was cursing at the same time, "You bastards, do you think this is a place where you can come and go as you please? I think you are here to steal things."
Those men seemed stunned, or perhaps they had no idea how to react. They could only retreat step by step as the middle-aged woman pushed them. "We're here to look for Uncle Du."
"Bah, what Uncle Du, who are you? Why do you keep calling me Uncle and Aunt? How come I don't know you?" Aunt Cui was not sure if there was anyone watching in secret, but she still refused righteously, and at the same time, she beat them hard with the broom in her hand. Seeing the faces of several people distorted with pain, she felt relieved and thought to herself that she had fulfilled the entrustment entrusted by Old Du.
"Get lost! If I see you again, I'll beat you up. You ignorant people, all of you have shifty eyes. Do you really think our family compound is easy to bully?"
As Aunt Cui cursed, other people in the yard rushed out and joined in the beating and scolding. Immediately, several people ran away like rats in the house.
Police Officers Duan and Zhang glanced at each other secretly, then turned and left.
Half an hour later, two policemen who heard the news arrived and took the people who were being chased to the police station. Aunt Cui was also with them, after all, she was the initiator and leader.
When questioned at the police station, Aunt Cui's reasoning was also legitimate. "These guys sneaked into the yard early in the morning, and the first thing they said was Uncle Du. My family's last name is Du, but I've never seen these guys before, and neither has my husband. They said they were from the same village and then they just barged into the house. You know, my daughter isn't married yet. Who else should I beat if not them?"
"They are from Dujia Village, don't you really know them?"
"I don't know them," Aunt Cui shook her head again. "There are so many people in the village, I can't possibly know everyone. Besides, I take care of the housework and farm work every day. If I had seen them, I certainly wouldn't say I didn't know them, but I really haven't seen these people in the fields."
"Okay, thank you for your cooperation." Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information out of the question, the visitor didn't hesitate and immediately closed the notebook in his hand and sent the person out.
After Aunt Cui left, Officers Duan and Zhang entered the room and opened the notebook they had just written. Looking at the words on it, they both sighed. Officer Zhang said, "It's just one side of the story. We can't get anything out of them even if we insist on it. Besides, a man with a job wouldn't care about these petty thefts, and the other party wouldn't care about such a small amount of money."
"That's true. Three of the four members of the family have jobs," Officer Duan nodded in agreement. "It seems we can only catch those who are sneaking around."
"Maybe we were wrong at the beginning," Police Officer Zhang looked at the words on the notebook and uncertainly overturned his previous idea.
"Maybe," the policeman remained noncommittal.
As for this theft, because there were witnesses and evidence, and the evidence was conclusive, the four people were sentenced within a few days. Perhaps because they wanted to set an example, each person's sentence was very severe, the longest was twenty years, and the shortest was seven years. But this was not the main point. The main point was that the matter was widely publicized, and immediately all the nearby villages knew about this scandal in Dujia Village, so that several originally arranged marriages were ruined.
As the village chief, Du Siming had no reaction to this result. He continued to do what he had to do. However, he openly delivered the food that he had searched from those people's homes to Huo Ze. Even though the villagers had some complaints, no one dared to refute him directly, and from then on they stayed away from the pig house on the third team's side.
"So this can be considered a good thing," Du Jiang looked at Huo Yang uncertainly, "a blessing in disguise."
"I guess so. At least the old village chief won't have to do any more unnecessary things in the future," Huo Yang said without looking up as he picked the beans in his hand. "It can also be regarded as a warning to other people in the village. Even if they are still on the side of the old village chief, they should weigh their own weight before doing anything. What's more, Uncle San's kiln factory will open next month, and the recruitment issue is enough to shut these people up."
"That's true," Du Jiang nodded in agreement. "Sister Yingying's wedding is in a few days, so things have calmed down a bit."
"Yes, this afternoon, Xu Zhizhou and I will go up the mountain to see if we can find some game. I'm afraid he doesn't have enough meat coupons." Huo Yang turned his head to look at Du Jiang, "Do you want to come with us?"
"No, Chunxiao and the others and I have an appointment to go to the riverbank," Du Jiang quickly waved his hand to refuse. "But you should be careful when you go up the mountain. Pay attention to safety. Don't go into the isolated deep mountains. I can hear wolves howling at night lately. I'm afraid they have come down the mountain too."
"I heard that too. It seems that after the winter, all the animals in the mountains have come back to life. There might even be large animals like wild boars, but I don't know how many there are."
"Forget about the wild boar. Safety is the top priority for both of you."
"I know, I'm just saying. But don't go into the water at the riverbank. Although the water is shallow, it's cold and not good for your health." Huo Yang couldn't help but warn Du Jiang a few times, fearing that she would not be able to resist going into the water. "You have a cold body to begin with. It will be troublesome if you get frozen."
"I know. How could I not know my own body?" Du Jiang did not feel annoyed at all by Huo Yang's reminder. Instead, he felt warm in his heart.
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